Saturday, June 23, 2007

Big City Knits, bay-bee!

In the spirit of Twinkle's Big City Knits, I present the finished Best Friend Cardigan!

Will I normally wear it with such attitude and such little shorts? Probably not. I'll wear it a lot, though... it's SO SOFT and looks great open or closed. I see keeping it at work to wear over thin turtlenecks and short-sleeved dresses when the weather is cool, and carrying it with me to wear in the evening with shorts and dresses in the summer. I'm very pleased.Now, thoughts on the book, yarn, and pattern:

First, the instructions in the book are more of an outline. I don't recommend this garment for beginners for this reason: it requires keeping track of cable-turning, side shaping, and buttonholes without much guidance. Additionally, sewing it together took four or five tries with different stitches, stitch lengths, and yarns in order to make the seaming look professional. Whew! I settled on mattress stitch with one ply of a 3 ply purple yarn that is slightly darker than the sweater.

Sizing? This is the smallest size. However, this is a very dense and thick sweater, and the seaming around the arms and shoulders would, I believe, be very unflattering for anyone with large shoulders. Honestly, I think this would look nice on larger, curvier body types, as long as the shoulders are small in relation to the bust and waist.

The yarn is really, really soft. I would compare it to Cascade Magnum, which is loosely spun and tends to split as it is knit, but this is even softer. This sweater has been washed and blocked, and there is no pilling at all.

Next post: yarn gift from Eastern Europe and upcoming socks! Elinor has knit some bright and pooling socks that she is sending me in trade for some subtly-dyed purple Sea Wool I sent her. We have similar taste, I find, with the exception of the fact that I like weird bright pooling yarns. Hooray trades!

OHHH! Love! My anna-girl had to pull hers out... too small because she had a hard time with the pattern, but it is lovely! maybe she and I will make it together.How is the Perfect Stranger sweater? Started yet?xxxooo Knitini night July 2